OOL^UMmAUBJ^A^^^^^^^ 


RJ61  M83 


The  care  and  feeding 


RECAP 


i . 


ffc.  ^5  V 


-r         silt    ■•-    ■CiCt>-.  ■.. 


.i-S>     . 


;THE  CARE  AND 


,i;i=;^:.x;;f;:';ic^i::i 


ti..  .»u      .;_,.,     -J 


EDING  OF  CHILDREN 


MORSE 


"R"^<^\ 


WX^*^ 


in  tl)p  (Etty  of  N^m  fork 


Uffprpnrp   ICtbrarg 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

THE  CARE  AND  FEEDING  OF 
CHILDREN 

BY  JOHN  LOVETT  MORSE 

PRESERVATIVES  FOR  FOOD :  THEIR  USE 
AND  ABUSE 

BY  OTTO  FOLIN 

In  Press 

CARE  OF  THE  SKIN 

BY  CHARLES  JAMES  WHITE 

In  Preparation 

THE  CARE  OF  THE  TEETH 
BY  CHARLES  ALBERT  BRACKETT 

In  Preparation 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 


THE   CARE  AND   FEEDING  OF 
CHILDREN 

BY 

JOHN  LOVETT  MORSE,  M.D. 


CAMBRIDGE 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1914 


r 


H4J^ 


COPTEIQHT,  1914 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


i'XAj 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

PRESENTING  the  substance  of  some 
-■■  of  the  pubHc  lectures  delivered  at 
the  Medical  School  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, this  series  aims  to  provide  in  easily 
accessible  form  modern  and  authorita- 
tive information  on  medical  subjects 
of  general  importance.  The  following 
committee,  composed  of  members  of 
the  Faculty  of  Medicine,  has  editorial 
supervision  of  the  volumes  published: 

EDWARD  HICKLING  BRADFORD, 
A.M.,  M.D.,  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of 
Medicine,  and  Professor  of  Orthopedic 
Surgery,  Emeritus. 

HAROLD  CLARENCE  ERNST,  A.M., 
M.D.,  Professor  of  Bacteriology. 

WALTER  BRADFORD  CANFNON,  A.M., 
M.D.,  George  Higginson  Professor  of 
Physiology. 


THE  CARE  AND  FEEDING 
OF  CHILDREN 


THE  CARE  AND  FEEDING  OF 
CHILDREN 

DIET  IN  EARLY  CHILDHOOD 

nn  HE  average  well  baby  of  a  year, 
^  whether  it  was  nursed  or  not,  will 
usually  be  taking  whole  milk  or  whole 
milk  diluted  with  a  cereal  water.  It 
will,  perhaps,  be  taking  in  addition  a 
little  cereal  and  beef  juice,  with  orange 
juice,  if  its  bowels  are  constipated.  It 
will,  in  most  instances,  be  having  five 
feedings,  at  three-hour  intervals,  begin- 
ning at  six  in  the  morning. 

If  it  is  not  already  taking  cereals,  they 
should  be  begun  at  once.  The  most 
easily  digestible  cereals  are  barley  jelly, 
oatmeal  jelly  (strained  oatmeal),  and 
farina.  A  tablespoonful  of  one  of  these 
cereals  should  be  given  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nine  a.m.  and  six  p.m.  feedings. 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

This  amount  may  be  rapidly  increased, 
if  it  is  taken  well  and  does  not  cause  anv 
disturbance  of  the  digestion.  Some  of 
the  milk,  or  milk  mixture,  should  be  put 
on  it.  It  should  be  salted,  but  not  sweet- 
ened. It  is  very  important  to  accustom 
babies  to  take  cereals  without  sugar.  If 
they  learn  to  eat  them  in  this  way,  they 
will  not  demand  sugar  later.  This  is  an 
important  matter,  because  children  are 
very  apt  to  use  too  much  sugar  on  their 
cereals  and  thereby  disturb  their  diges- 
tions. If  they  are  not  taking  beef  juice, 
it  should  be  begun.  One  tablespoonful 
of  the  expressed  beef  juice  should  be 
given  at  first.  This  amount  may  be 
gradually  increased  to  four  tablespoon- 
fuls.  The  various  beef  extracts  and 
liquid  preparations  of  beef  juice  should 
never  be  used.  They  contain  but  little 
nourishment  and  the  liquid  preparations 
contain  an  appreciable  amount  of  alco- 
hol. Mutton  broth  and  chicken  broth 
may  soon  be  given  part  of  the  time  in 

10 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

place  of  the  beef  juice,  beginning  with 
two  ounces  and  working  up  to  four 
ounces.  The  beef  juice  and  broth  should 
be  given  at  the  beginning  of  the  noon 
feeding.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
clear  broths  have  practically  no  nutritive 
value  and  that  the  food  value  of  beef 
juice  is  only  one  half  that  of  an  equal 
amount  of  milk.  When  the  baby  is 
thirteen  or  fourteen  months  old,  zwie- 
bach  and  bread  crumbs  may  be  added  to 
the  beef  juice  and  broth.  The  list  of 
cereals  may  be  increased  after  a  few 
months  by  the  addition  of  cream  of 
wheat,  Ralston,  wheat  germ,  and  rice. 
They  may  also  be  given  at  this  time  stale 
bread  or  plain  white  crackers  "  in  their 
hands  "  to  eat.  At  eighteen  months, 
soft  boiled  or  coddled  eggs,  baked  potato, 
and  plain  boiled  macaroni  may  be  added. 
At  the  same  time  they  may  have  junket, 
baked  custard,  and  cornstarch  pudding 
as  desserts.  Butter  may  be  put  on  their 
bread  at  about  the  same  time.     The 

11 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

bread  and  crackers  may  be  given  plain 
or  toasted,  or  in  the  form  of  milk  toast. 

The  simple  meats,  like  roast  or  boiled 
chicken,  lamb  chop,  mutton  chop,  and 
scraped  beef,  may  be  begun  at  two  years. 
Plain  blanc-mange  and  plain  tapioca 
may  be  added  to  the  desserts. 

At  two  and  one-half  years  the  green 
vegetables,  such  as  peas,  string  beans, 
spinach,  asparagus  and  stewed  celery, 
may  be  given.  The  peas,  string  beans, 
and  spinach  should  be  put  through  a 
sieve,  otherwise  they  are  not  easily 
digested.  There  is  no  objection  to  giving 
canned  peas  and  string  beans.  Canned 
asparagus  is,  however,  not  suitable. 
Other  forms  of  meat,  such  as  roast  lamb, 
roast  mutton,  beef  steak,  and  roast 
beef,  may  now  be  given.  It  may  be 
noted  here  that  dish  gravy  is  very  un- 
suitable for  children,  because  it  contains 
a  large  amount   of  cooked  fat,  which 

12 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

is  very  indigestible.  Scrambled  eggs, 
dropped  eggs,  mashed  potato,  bread 
pudding,  and  rice  pudding  may  also  be 
added. 

If  the  baby  is  constipated,  orange  juice 
and  prune  juice  may  be  begun  at  a  year, 
if  they  have  not  already  been  given.  At 
one  and  one-half  years,  it  is  usually  safe 
to  give  the  pulp  of  the  prunes,  baked 
apples,  and  apple  sauce. 

This  diet  may  be  gradually  increased 
by  the  addition  of  boiled  and  broiled 
fish  and  minced  meat.  Gems  and  corn 
cake  may  be  added  at  about  four  years, 
and  the  desserts  increased  by  the  addi- 
tion of  apple  tapioca  and  possibly  Span- 
ish cream.  Other  desserts  which  are 
harmless  at  this  age  are  simple  gelatines, 
flavored  with  fruit  juices,  and  prune 
whip.  There  is  really  no  objection  to 
plain  sugar  cookies  at  this  age,  provided 
they  are  given  only  occasionally.  It  is 
better  not  to  give  cake.    The  following 

13 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

is  a  reasonable  diet  for  a  child  of  from 
four  to  six  years  of  age: 


DIET  LIST 


Milk. 
Butter. 

Mutton  Broth. 
Chicken  Broth. 
Beef  Juice. 
Soft  Boiled  Eggs. 
Scrambled  Eggs. 
Dropped  Eggs. 
Lamb  Chop. 
Mutton  Chop. 
Roast  Chicken. 
Boiled  Chicken. 
Roast  Lamb. 
Roast  Mutton. 
Beef  Steak. 
Roast  Beef. 
Minced  Meat. 
Boiled  Fish. 
Broiled  Fish. 
French  Bread. 
Stale  Bread. 
Toast  Bread. 
Whole  Wheat  Bread. 
Milk  Toast. 
Zwiebach. 
Plain  White  Crackers. 


Plain  Educators. 

Gems. 

Com  Cake. 

Oatmeal. 

Pettijohn. 

Cream  of  Wheat. 

Wheat  Germ. 

Ralston. 

Farina. 

Rice. 

Baked  Potato. 

Mashed  Potato. 

Plain  Macaroni. 

Peas. 

String  Beans. 

Spinach. 

Asparagus. 

Summer  Squash. 

Carrots. 

Lettuce. 

Stewed  Celery. 

Orange  Juice. 

Baked  Apples. 

Stewed  Prunes. 

Apple  Sauce. 

Junket. 


14 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

Baked  Custard.  Plain  Tapioca. 

Com  Starch.  Apple  Tapioca. 

Bread  Pudding.  Gelatines. 

Rice  Pudding.  Prune  Whip. 

Plain  Blanc  Mange.  Sugar  Cookies. 

Special  Articles  of  Diet 

Fruit.  Fruit  is  not  a  necessary  com- 
ponent of  a  child's  diet,  as  so  many 
people  suppose.  A  child  may  grow  and 
thrive  perfectly  without  it.  There  is, 
however,  no  objection  to  it,  provided  it 
is  digested  by  the  individual  child.  If 
children  are  constipated,  fruit  is  often 
useful.  Many  mothers  and  nurses  think 
that  every  baby  must  have  orange  juice 
after  it  is  a  few  months  old.  Orange  juice 
is  not  necessary,  however,  unless  the  baby 
is  constipated  or  is  taking  a  pasteurized 
or  boiled  food.  If  the  food  is  cooked, 
orange  juice  is  advisable  in  order  to 
guard  against  the  development  of  scurvy. 
Before  giving  orange  juice  for  constipa- 
tion, however,  it  is  always  advisable  to 
determine  first  whether  the  constipation 

15 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

is  not  due  to  some  error  in  the  diet,  the 
correction  of  which  will  relieve  the  con- 
stipation. It  is  better  not  to  give  the 
pulp  of  the  orange  before  children  are 
five  or  six  years  old.  Bananas  are  not  an 
easily  digestible  form  of  fruit.  Many 
children  cannot  take  them  at  all.  The 
food  value  of  bananas  is,  moreover,  rela- 
tively slight.  There  is  no  objection  to 
them,  however,  if  the  individual  child 
can  take  them  without  disturbance.  Un- 
cooked berries  should  never  be  given  to 
young  children.  There  is  no  objection 
to  giving  cooked  berries  to  children  after 
they  are  four  years  old.  Raw  fruit  is,  in 
general,  a  rather  dangerous  article  of  diet 
for  young  children. 

Cereals.  It  is  very  necessary  to  have 
cereals  thoroughly  cooked  for  children. 
The  cereals  which  are  supposed  to  be 
eaten  cold  without  being  cooked  in  the 
household  are  not  suitable  for  children. 
They  should  never  be  given  to  them. 

16 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

The  only  possible  exception  is  shredded 
wheat  biscuit.  Cereals  should  be  cooked 
at  least  four  hours,  better  longer,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  directions  on  the 
package  often  prescribe  a  much  shorter 
time.  The  most  satisfactory  way  of 
cooking  cereals  for  children  is  in  a  fireless 
cooker.  Cereals  cooked  in  this  way  are 
better  than  those  cooked  in  any  other. 
It  is  often  said  that  the  cereals  have 
been  on  the  stove  all  night.  This  sounds 
very  well,  but  investigation  often  dis- 
closes the  fact  that  there  has  been  no 
fire  in  the  stove.  In  many  instances  in 
which  children  have  disturbances  of 
digestion,  the  whole  trouble  is  in  the 
cooking  of  the  cereals. 

Bread  and  crackers.  It  is  just  as  im- 
portant to  have  bread  as  it  is  to  have 
cereals  thoroughly  cooked.  Improperly 
cooked  bread  is  extremely  indigestible. 
Graham  bread,  unless  light  and  thor- 
oughly   cooked,     is     very    indigestible. 

17 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

Properly  cooked  Graham  bread  is  a 
very  rare  article.  Graham  bread  should, 
therefore,  always  be  looked  upon  with 
suspicion. 

Many  people  have  an  idea  that  crack- 
ers are  not  nutritious.  This  idea  is  erro- 
neous, because  crackers  are  almost  pure 
starch.  Bulk  for  bulk  and  weight  for 
weight,  they  are  much  more  nourishing 
than  bread.  The  best  form  of  crackers 
are  the  plain  white  crackers  of  various 
sorts.  It  is  better  not  to  give  the  sweet- 
ened or  fancy  crackers.  Graham  crack- 
ers are  not  suitable  for  children.  Thev 
are  too  sweet  and  relatively  indigestible. 
Oatmeal  crackers  should  never  be  given, 
the  starch  in  the  oatmeal  not  being  in  a 
readily  digestible  form.  Bran  crackers 
may  be  given  for  the  relief  of  constipa- 
tion, but  only  on  the  advice  of  a  physi- 
cian. 

Milk.  Many  people  have  an  idea  that 
if  they  get  pure  milk  for  their  children 

18 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

during  their  first  year,  they  have  done 
their  full  duty,  and  that  after  they  are  a 
year  old,  children  can  then  take  any  sort 
of  milk  without  harm.  This  idea  is  an 
erroneous  one.  While  it  is  true  that 
babies  are  less  susceptible  to  milk  infec- 
tion and  milk-borne  diseases  after  the 
first  year  than  earlier,  they  are,  never- 
theless, very  susceptible  during  the 
second  and  even  during  the  third  year,  — 
so  susceptible,  indeed,  that  it  is  almost 
as  important  to  provide  pure  milk  for 
them  then  as  it  is  earlier.  It  is,  in  fact,  a 
wise  precaution  to  get  certified  milk  or  a 
milk  of  that  grade  for  them  throughout 
the  whole  of  early  childhood.  A  very 
few  doctor's  visits  will  cost  more  than 
the  few  extra  cents  per  quart  will  add  up 
to  in  a  long  time. 

Although  milk  forms  almost  the  whole 
of  the  diet  during  the  first  year,  and  the 
greater  part  of  it  during  the  first  half  of 
the  second  year,  it  should  form  a  pro- 
gressively  smaller   part   afterward.      A 

19 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

child  cannot  thrive  on  a  diet  made  up 
entirely  of  milk  after  it  is  a  year  old. 
Malnutrition  and  anemia  will  certainly 
result,  if  it  does  not  have  some  other 
food  in  addition  to  milk.  The  cause  of 
the  development  of  anemia  on  an  exclu- 
sively milk  diet  is  as  follows.  Milk  does 
not  contain  sufficient  iron  to  cover  the 
baby's  need  of  iron.  When  the  surplus 
of  iron  with  which  the  baby  is  born  is 
exhausted,  as  it  is  at  or  even  before  the 
end  of  the  first  year,  anemia  must  neces- 
sarily result.  A  child  should  not  take 
over  a  quart  of  milk  daily  after  it  is  two 
years  old.  More  than  this  is  likely  to 
take  away  its  appetite  for  other  food, 
which  is  more  necessary  for  it.  It  is 
wiser  not  to  give  a  baby  more  than 
thirty-six  or  forty  ounces  of  milk  during 
the  second  half  of  the  second  year. 

Cream.  Cream  is  a  distinctly  bad  arti- 
cle of  diet  for  young  children.  It  is 
likely  to  cause  disturbance  and  to  set  up 

20 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

a  peculiar  form  of  indigestion,  which  it 
is  very  hard  to  correct.  It  is  often  given 
to  children  to  relieve  constipation  or  to 
fatten  them.  Constipation  in  babies 
and  little  children  is  not  infrequently, 
however,  the  result  of  an  excess  of  fat  in 
the  food.  In  such  cases  cream  will,  of 
course,  increase  the  constipation,  in- 
stead of  relieving  it.  Failure  to  gain  in 
weight  is  very  often  the  manifestation  of 
a  disturbance  of  the  digestion.  Cream, 
given  with  the  idea  of  increasing  the 
weight  in  these  cases,  is  very  likely  to 
increase  the  disturbance  of  the  digestion 
and  to  result  in  further  loss  of  weight. 

Eggs.  Eggs  are  a  very  good  article  of 
diet  for  children  who  are  able  to  digest 
them.  Many  children  are,  however, 
seriously  poisoned  by  eggs,  while  many 
others  are  unable  to  take  them  continu- 
ously without  having  their  digestion  dis- 
turbed. Eggs  must,  therefore,  always 
be  begun  cautiously  and  must  always 

21 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

be  thought  of  as  a  possible  cause  of 
indigestion. 

Meat.  Meat  is  supposed  by  most  people 
to  be  difficult  of  digestion.  This  is,  how- 
ever, not  the  case.  It  is  readily  digested 
by  most  children,  much  more  readily,  in 
fact,  than  eggs.  It  is  a  useful  and  neces- 
sary article  of  diet  after  the  second  year. 
It  is  wiser  not  to  give  meat  to  children 
more  than  once  a  day,  although  when 
children  are  unable  to  eat  eggs,  they  may 
be  given  meat  or  fish  twice  daily. 

Sugar.  There  is  no  article  of  food  which 
more  often  causes  indigestion  in  chil- 
dren than  sugar.  Young  children  should 
not  only  not  be  given  candy,  but  also 
should  not  be  given  sugar  on  their  food, 
nor  given  foods  like  cake,  in  which  sugar 
is  present  in  considerable  amounts.  A 
young  child  should  not  know  the  taste 
of  candy.  It  should  never  be  given  ice 
cream  or  sherbet.    Sugar  is  not  a  neces- 

22 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

sary  component  of  the  child's  dietary,  as 
it  is  so  often  said  to  be.  The  origin  of 
the  belief  that  it  is  necessary  is  probably 
the  fact  that  children  need  carbohy- 
drates in  considerable  amounts  in  order 
to  keep  up  the  body  heat  and  to  supply 
energy.  There  are,  however,  two  kinds 
of  carbohydrates,  sugars  and  starches. 
The  starches  are  as  useful  as  the  sugars. 
They  are,  in  fact,  gradually  converted 
into  sugar  during  the  process  of  digestion 
and  are  absorbed  in  the  form  of  sugar. 
They  do  not  easily  cause  disturbance  of 
the  digestion,  while  sugars  do.  The 
starches,  therefore,  can  take  the  place 
of  the  sugars.  There  is,  consequently,  no 
need  for  the  use  of  sugars. 

Feeding 

Number  of  Feedings  and  Intervals  be- 
tween Feedings.  The  time  at  which  the 
average  two-year-old  child  gets  its  first 
feeding  depends  somewhat  on  how  early 
it  wakes  up.     If  it  wakes  up  between 

23 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

five  and  six,  as  most  young  children  do, 
it  should  have  some  milk  or  a  piece  of 
cracker  or  bread.  If  it  wakes  up  later, 
it  should  wait  until  its  breakfast,  at  half- 
past  seven  or  eight.  It  then  has  a  light 
lunch,  consisting  of  some  milk,  or  a  piece 
of  bread  or  a  cracker,  at  eleven  or  eleven- 
thirty,  before  its  nap.  It  has  its  dinner 
between  one  and  two,  after  waking  from 
its  nap,  and  its  supper  at  five- thirty, 
after  which  it  goes  promptly  to  bed.  It 
may  have  orange  juice  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, instead  of  the  milk  or  cracker,  if 
desired,  or  it  may  have  it  in  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon,  provided  it  is  consti- 
pated. These  hours  should  be  continued 
throughout  the  whole  of  early  childhood. 

A  child  ought  not  to  have  anything 
to  eat  between  its  meals.  Food  between 
meals  destroys  the  appetite  and  disturbs 
the  digestion.  The  stomach  does  not 
have  a  chance  to  empty  itself  properly. 

The  suppers  of  a  child,  until  it  is  at 
least  six  years  old,  should  be  very  simple. 

24 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

They  should  consist  of  milk  and  cereals, 
bread  or  crackers,  with  a  little  sauce  of 
some  sort.  The  bread  and  crackers  may 
be  given  plain,  toasted  or  in  the  form  of 
milk  toast.     Nothing  more  is  required. 

School  lunches.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  many  mothers,  who  are  very  careful 
about  what  their  children  eat  in  their 
own  house,  send  them  to  school  with  a 
lunch  composed  of  cake,  cookies,  and 
doughnuts,  or  other  kinds  of  sweets, 
apparently  thinking  that  a  child  can 
digest  things  at  school  which  it  cannot 
at  home.  A  child's  lunch  should  consist 
of  bread  and  butter  or  a  meat  sandwich. 
If  soup  or  milk  can  be  obtained  at  school, 
so  much  the  better. 

Unwillingness  to  eat.  It  is  often  very 
hard  to  induce  a  child  who  has  been 
properly  brought  up  to  eat  new  articles 
of  food.  There  is  no  such  trouble,  how- 
ever, with  children  who  have  been  badly 

25 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

brought  up,  and  given  a  taste  of  every- 
thing as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  hold 
it  in  their  hands  or  to  swallow  it.  They 
will  like  and  eat  almost  anything  that  is 
given  to  them.  The  child  that  has  been 
carefully  fed,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
usually  suspicious  of  every  new  thing 
and  very  likely  to  dislike  its  taste.  Such 
children  must,  however,  be  made  to  eat 
what  is  given  to  them  whether  they  like 
it  or  not,  because  it  is  important  for 
older  children  and  adults  to  eat  a  general 
and  varied  diet.  The  child  that  has  been 
allowed  to  eat  a  limited  diet  at  home  has 
a  very  hard  time  when  it  first  goes  out 
into  the  world  and  has  to  eat  what  is  set 
before  it.  Children  can  be  made  to  eat 
new  things  if  sufiicient  patience  and  per- 
suasion are  exercised.  It  is  rarely  neces- 
sary to  use  force.  It  should  be  used, 
however,  if  they  cannot  be  made  to  eat 
in  any  other  way.  If,  however,  it  is 
evident  that  a  child  has  a  great  distaste 
for  a  certain  article  of  food,  it  is  not  fair 

26 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

to  force  it  on  him  too  often.  He  should 
be  made  to  eat  it  when  it  is  given  to  him, 
but  discretion  should  be  exercised  in 
giving  it  to  him.  When  children  have  a 
marked  distaste  for  a  certain  article  of 
food,  this  distaste  is  almost  invariably 
the  result  of  suggestion  from  the  parents. 
It  is  surprising  how  often  the  statement 
is  made  that  the  child  inherits  a  dislike 
for  a  certain  article  of  food  from  one  or 
both  parents.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is, 
of  course,  not  that  the  child  inherits  the 
dislike,  but  that  it  has  heard  its  parents 
say  that  they  can  not  eat  a  certain  thing 
and  consequently  thinks  that  it  is  not  a 
good  thing  to  eat.  Parents  should  be 
extremely  careful  not  to  say  that  they  do 
not  like  anything  before  a  child.  They 
should  merely  refrain  from  eating  it  and 
say  nothing. 

Many  children  are  always  teasing  for 
articles  of  food  which  they  ought  not  to 
have.  The  reason  of  this  is  that  they 
have  been  badly  brought  up  and  have 

27 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

been  given  "  tastes  "  of  things.  Conse- 
quently, they  do  not  see  why  they  should 
not  have  a  taste  of  everything  and  eat 
everything.  A  child  that  has  been  prop- 
erly brought  up  and  that  has  never 
been  given  a  taste  of  anything  except  of 
its  own  food,  does  not  expect  to  have 
anything  else  to  eat  and  will,  therefore, 
never  ask  for  other  food.  He  will  be 
perfectly  contented  with  his  own  food 
and  it  will  never  occur  to  him  that  he 
can  eat  anything  else. 

On  this  account  it  is  bad  for  a  child  to 
begin  to  sit  at  the  family  table  too  early, 
many  parents  being  too  soft-hearted  and 
weak-minded  to  resist  their  children's 
requests.  In  any  case,  a  young  child 
should  eat  its  supper  alone. 

People  often  say  that  children  will  get 
tired  of  such  a  routine  diet  and  that  they 
need  variety.  This  is  not  true.  A 
child  will  be  satisfied  with  the  same  diet 
day  in  and  day  out,  month  in  and  month 
out,  in  the  same  way  that  a  dog  is  satis- 

28 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

fied  with  meat  and  a  horse  with  hay  and 
grain,  provided  it  has  never  had  any- 
thing else.  When  a  child  that  has  been 
properly  brought  up  loses  its  appetite 
it  is  not  because  of  the  sameness  of  the 
food,  but  because  of  some  disturbance 
of  the  digestion  or  some  other  illness. 
The  appetite  will  not  be  brought  back 
by  increasing  the  variety  of  its  food, 
but  will  return  when  the  cause  of  the 
illness  is  discovered  and  removed. 

Many  children  are  unwilling  to  eat 
because  they  are  so  much  interested  in 
other  things.  Such  children  will  often 
eat  much  better  alone.  Other  children 
are  too  busy  to  eat.  Just  as  soon  as  they 
have  satisfied  the  acute  pangs  of  hunger 
they  want  to  begin  to  play  again.  Such 
children  should  be  made  to  sit  at  the 
table  until  they  have  eaten  a  proper 
amount.  In  fact,  a  child  should  not  be 
allowed  to  leave  the  table  until  the 
family  have  finished  their  meal.  If  they 
are  obliged  to  sit  through  the  meal  they 

29 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

eat  more  and  eat  more  slowly,  there 
being  no  inducement  to  bolt  their  food 
in  order  to  get  away. 

Loss  of  appetite.  Loss  of  appetite  in  a 
child  is  always  a  symptom  of  fatigue, 
indigestion,  or  some  other  illness.  It  is 
never  due  to  the  sameness  of  the  food  or 
to  a  routine  diet.  If  a  child  loses  its  appe- 
tite, it  must  not  be  "  tempted,"  as  the 
term  is.  It  is  never  right  to  give  a  child 
indigestible  food,  when  it  refuses  proper 
nourishment,  simply  to  make  it  eat. 
Loss  of  appetite  being  a  symptom  of 
some  disturbance  or  other,  the  child  is 
less  able,  even  than  when  well,  to  digest 
improper  food.  Consequently,  if  a 
child  is  to  be  tempted  with  improper 
food,  it  had  better  be  when  his  appetite 
is  good  and  he  is  well,  than  when  it  is 
poor  and  he  is  sick.  When  a  child  loses 
its  appetite  the  correct  procedure  is 
always  to  cut  down  the  food,  not  to 
push  it  or  to  increase  its  variety. 

30 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

Children  should  always  be  made  to 
chew  their  food  properly  and  not  be  al- 
lowed to  bolt  it.  They  must  never  be 
allowed  to  wash  half-chewed  food  down 
with  water  or  milk.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  must  not  be  allowed  to  dawdle  at 
their  meals.  They  must  be  made  to  eat 
their  meals  in  a  reasonable  time.  If  they 
will  not  eat  a  sufficient  amount  in  a 
proper  time,  they  must  be  made  to  leave 
the  table  and  go  without  food  until  the 
next  meal.  Hunger  will  soon  teach  them 
to  eat  their  meals  in  a  reasonable  time. 

Feeding  of  the  sick.  It  seems  a  reason- 
able proposition  that  the  digestive  powers 
of  a  sick  child  are  less  than  those  of  one 
that  is  well.  Nevertheless,  unless  times 
have  changed  since  my  boyhood,  sick- 
ness is  the  signal  for  all  the  female  rela- 
tives and  neighbors  to  bring  in  jellies 
and  preserves  which  are  unfit  for  a  well 
child  to  eat.  It  is  one  of  the  things 
which   "  no  fellow  can  find  out  "  why 

31 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

people  should  want  to  make  a  sick  child 
sicker. 

Grandmothers.  One  of  the  greatest 
obstacles  to  the  proper  feeding  of  young 
children  is  the  opposition  and  inter- 
ference of  grandmothers.  It  is  a  strange 
fact  that  the  majority  of  women,  al- 
though they  have  been  good  mothers 
and  have  brought  up  their  own  children 
sensibly,  show  no  reason  whatever  in 
matters  relating  to  their  grandchildren. 
They  are  willing  to  give  them  anything 
and  everything  to  eat  and  will,  in  fact, 
go  out  of  their  way  to  do  so.  The  most 
probable  explanation  of  this  curious 
anomaly  is  that  they  are  not  responsible 
for  the  care  of  the  children  when  they 
are  sick.  They  had  to  take  care  of  their 
own  children  when  they  were  sick,  and 
consequently  took  good  care  that  they 
did  not  get  sick.  They  do  not  have  to 
take  care  of  their  grandchildren,  and 
consequently  are  not  so  careful. 

S2 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

Attention  to  bowels.  It  is  very  im- 
portant to  bring  up  children  to  have  a 
movement  of  the  bowels  at  a  regular 
hour.  If  a  regular  habit  is  established 
in  early  childhood,  it  will  persist  through 
life.  Even  infants  can  be  trained  in 
this  way.  There  is  no  trouble  in  train- 
ing young  children.  There  is  more  diflS- 
culty  when  children  go  to  school,  since 
they  are  often  obliged  to  hurry  off 
immediately  after  breakfast.  This  can 
be  avoided  by  having  the  family  break- 
fast early  enough  to  give  them  ample 
time  for  a  movement  of  the  bowels 
before  starting.  The  rest  of  the  family 
certainly  ought  to  be  willing  to  sacrifice 
a  few  minutes  of  sleep  for  the  good  of  the 
children. 

Constipation  is,  in  the  majority  of 
instances,  due  to  some  disturbance  of 
the  digestion,  and  should  be  corrected  by 
regulation  of  the  diet.  It  must  be  re- 
membered in  this  connection  that  much 
harm  may  be  done  by  attempting  to 

33 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

correct  constipation  by  giving  large 
amounts  of  cream,  fruit  and  green  vege- 
tables. All  of  these  things,  if  given  in 
excess,  are  more  likely  to  disturb  the 
digestion  further  than  to  relieve  the 
constipation.  Cream  is,  moreover,  not 
infrequently  the  cause  of  constipation  in 
young  children. 

Water.  Children  need  a  large  amount  of 
water.  They  are  very  active,  and  con- 
sequently lose  much  water  in  the  per- 
spiration and  in  the  expired  air.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  many  young  children  do 
not  realize  that  they  are  thirsty  and  have 
to  be  reminded  that  they  want  a  drink. 
Every  mother  should  see  that  her  child 
has  sufficient  water  between  meals. 
There  is  no  harm  in  drinking  water  with 
the  meals,  provided  it  is  not  used  to 
wash  down  partially  masticated  food. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  good  plan  to  finish  a 
meal  with  a  drink  of  water. 


84 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 


CLOTHING 

The  child's  clothing  should  be  as 
simple  as  possible.  No  normal  small 
boy  ever  cared,  or  ever  will  care,  how 
his  clothes  look,  provided  they  are  easy 
to  get  on  and  off.  He  is  just  as  happy 
with  a  patch  on  the  seat  of  his  trousers 
and  one  on  each  knee  as  he  is  in  a 
whole  suit.  He  much  prefers  overalls, 
in  which  he  can  get  as  dirty  as  he 
pleases,  to  good  clothes  in  which  he  has 
to  be  careful.  The  normal  little  girl's 
point  of  view  is  the  same,  but  many  of 
them,  as  the  result  of  bad  example,  begin 
after  a  time  to  notice  what  they  have  on 
and  to  think  about  their  clothes.  This 
condition  of  mind  must  be  regarded, 
however,  as  pathological  rather  than 
physiological.  Children  that  wear  fine 
clothes  wear  them  not  for  their  own 
enjoyment,  but  to  please  the  esthetic 
tastes  of  their  mothers. 

35 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

It  is  very  difficult  to  say  how  warm  a 
child's  clothes  should  be.  They  should 
be  warm  enough,  but  not  too  warm.  The 
temperature  of  the  house  in  which  a 
child  lives  should  always  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  dressing  a  child.  A 
child  who  lives  in  a  warm  house  should 
not  be  dressed  as  heavily  as  one  who 
lives  in  a  cool  house.  A  child  who  wears 
warm  clothes  in  the  house  does  not  need 
as  man}^  outside  clothes  when  it  goes 
out  of  doors  as  does  the  child  who  wears 
thin  clothes  in  the  house.  It  must  be 
remembered,  too,  that  the  outside  clothes 
must  be  varied  according  to  the  tempera- 
ture, and  that  a  child  does  not  need  a 
heavy  coat  every  day  in  the  winter, 
whether  it  is  cold  or  not,  simply  because 
it  is  winter.  In  fact,  there  is  nothing 
about  the  care  of  children  in  which  there 
is  more  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of 
good  common  sense  than  in  the  dressing 
of  children.  It  should  be  remembered  in 
this  connection  that  cold  feet  are  often 

S6 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

the  result  of  an  excessive  amount  of  per- 
spiration from  overheating  of  the  feet  by 
too  thick  stockings. 

Small  bodies,  having  a  greater  surface 
area  in  relation  to  their  bulk,  lose  heat 
faster  than  larger  bodies.  Children, 
therefore,  lose  heat  more  readily  and 
more  rapidly  than  do  adults.  The  heat 
regulatory  centers  of  children  are,  more- 
over, less  stable  and  less  efficient  than 
those  of  adults.  Young  children,  there- 
fore, bear  exposure  less  well  than  older 
children  and  adults.  If  anyone  should 
go  bare-legged  and  bare-armed  in  cold 
weather,  it  should  be  the  children's  par- 
ents rather  than  the  children.  If  the 
mothers  were  compelled  to  dress  in  the 
same  way  that  some  of  them  dress  their 
children,  we  should  see  less  blue  and 
chapped  bare  arms  and  legs  on  the  street 
than  we  do  at  present. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  in  our  civilization 
that  young  babies  and  strong  men  wear 
abdominal  bands,  while  the  rest  of  the 

S7 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

population  goes  without  them.  The 
abdominal  band  unquestionably  pro- 
tects the  abdomen  and  its  contents 
against  chilling  and  diminishes,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  the  chances  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  diarrheal  diseases.  It  is 
wise,  therefore,  for  young  children  to 
wear  them.  When  asked  how  long  they 
should  continue  to  wear  them,  I  usually 
say  that  the  girls  should  wear  them  until 
they  are  old  enough  to  be  married,  and 
the  boys  until  they  are  old  enough  to 
vote. 

Less  is  said  about  "  hardening  "  chil- 
dren than  there  used  to  be.  In  years 
past,  it  was  commonly  supposed  that 
children  could  be  rendered  less  suscepti- 
ble to  diseases  of  the  respiratory  tract  by 
accustoming  them  to  exposure.  It  is 
possible  that  some  of  those  that  survived 
the  exposure  were  less  susceptible. 
Many,  however,  were  killed  in  the  pro- 
cess. It  is,  of  course,  foolish  to  overdress 
children  and  to  protect  them  too  much 

88 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

against  all  sorts  of  exposure.  Their 
resistance  is  unquestionably  weakened 
in  this  way.  It  is  also  a  mistake,  how- 
ever, to  suppose  that  they  can  be  accus- 
tomed to  unreasonable  exposure.  They 
are  almost  always  made  sick  by  such 
exposure  or,  if  not,  their  resistance  is 
materially  weakened. 

Shoes.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
normal  human  being  toes  in  and  spreads 
his  toes  out  while  walking.  Modern 
shoeing  and  dancing  masters  unfortu- 
nately prevent  this  to  a  considerable 
extent.  It  must  also  be  remembered 
that  babies  and  young  children  have 
right  feet  and  left  feet  like  adults.  Babies 
and  young  children  should,  therefore, 
from  the  beginning,  wear  shoes  that  are 
rights  and  lefts,  not,  as  so  many  do, 
shoes  shaped  like  paddles  that  will  go 
on,  but  will  not  fit,  either  foot.  There  is 
nothing  which  allows  the  foot  to  take  its 
natural  position  so  well  as  a  moccasin. 

39 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

Young  children  should,  therefore,  wear 
moccasins  as  long  as  possible.  When  it 
is  necessary  for  them  to  begin  to  wear 
shoes  with  hard  soles,  great  care  should 
be  taken  to  get  shoes  which  allow  the 
foot  to  take  its  natural  position. 

EXERCISE  AND  SLEEP 

Exercise.  The  average  baby  walks  alone 
at  about  fifteen  months.  Many,  of 
course,  walk  earlier  than  this  and  others 
do  not  walk  alone  until  some  months 
later.  It  is  important  not  to  encourage 
them  to  begin  to  walk.  They  will  do  it 
as  soon  as  they  are  able.  Deformity  of 
the  legs  is  very  likely  to  result,  if  they 
are  forced.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  young  children  are  unable  to  walk 
far  at  a  time.  They  are  fitted  to  take 
short,  violent  exercise,  then  to  rest,  then 
to  exercise  again,  and  so  on.  They  are 
like  the  puppy  and  the  kitten  that  play 
violently  for  a  few   minutes,   then  lie 

40 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

down  and  rest.  No  adult  could  follow  a 
child  all  day  without  dying  of  exhaustion. 
Any  adult,  however,  can  use  a  child  up 
very  easily  on  a  walk.  When  adults  are 
walking  with  a  child,  they  should  not 
forget  the  relative  length  of  their  legs 
and  those  of  the  child.  The  adult's  legs 
are  so  much  longer  that  what  is  a  very 
slow  gait  for  the  adult  is  a  very  fast  one 
for  the  child.  The  adult  must  remember 
how  fast  he  would  have  to  walk  to  keep 
up  with  a  giant  twelve  feet  high.  In 
walking  with  a  child,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  to  the  child  the  curbstone  is 
like  a  step  of  the  Pyramids  to  an  adult. 
The  child  should  never  be  taken  by  the 
hand  and  snaked  up  on  to  the  sidewalk. 
The  adult  would  not  do  this  if  he  real- 
ized that  the  child  feels  as  he  would  feel 
if  a  giant  grabbed  him  by  the  hand  and 
snaked  him  up  on  to  a  platform  three 
feet  high.  There  is,  moreover,  a  real 
danger  of  dislocating  the  child's  shoulder 
in  this  way. 

41 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

The  tendency  of  almost  all  children  is 
to  do  too  much  and  to  overexert  and 
overfatigue  themselves.  They  almost 
always  need  to  be  held  back,  not  en- 
couraged to  exert  themselves.  The 
whole  cause  of  the  trouble  in  many  chil- 
dren who  are  below  par,  fretty,  and  with 
poor  appetites,  is  that  they  are  over- 
trained. They  are  stale  in  the  same  way 
as  the  athlete  who  has  been  working  too 
hard.  Rest  will  immediately  restore 
these  children  to  health.  This  over- 
strain has  to  be  sharply  looked  out  for 
in  the  younger  children  of  large  families. 
They  play  with  their  older  brothers  and 
sisters  and  their  companions,  and  natu- 
rally try  to  keep  up  with  them  in  their 
games.  The  result  is  that  they  are  over- 
strained and  exhausted. 

Outdoors.  The  general  principle  that 
the  air  outdoors  is  better  than  the  air 
indoors  applies  in  childhood  as  in  adult 
life.     The  more  out-of-door  air  that  a 

42 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

child  can  get,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  better.  It  is  often  asked  at  what 
temperature  it  is  too  cold  for  a  child  to 
go  out.  This  must  depend  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  on  the  average  tempera- 
ture in  the  given  place  and  to  what  the 
child  is  accustomed.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Boston,  it  is  probably  wiser  to 
keep  babies  and  children  under  four  or 
five  years  of  age  in  the  house  when  the 
temperature  is  below  20"F.  It  is  wiser 
to  keep  children  who  have  a  tendency  to 
"  colds  "  in  the  house  when  it  is  windy 
and  dusty  or  damp  and  chilly.  They  are 
very  likely  to  "  catch  cold  "  under  these 
conditions  and  to  lose  more  hours  in  the 
fresh  air  as  the  result  of  the  "  cold  " 
than  they  would  have  lost  if  they  had 
stayed  in  in  the  beginning.  It  is  a  cur- 
ious fact  that  most  people  think  that  it 
injures  a  child  to  be  wet  by  rain,  but 
that  it  does  not  hurt  it  at  all  to  be  wet 
through  by  wet  snow.  Mothers  will 
carefully  guard  their  children  from  the 

43 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

rain,  but  will  let  them  play  and  wallow 
in  the  snow  as  if  it  could  do  them  no 
harm.  If  it  is  harmful  to  a  child  to  get 
wet,  there  certainly  seems  no  reason  why 
it  should  make  any  difference  whether 
it  is  wet  with  rain  water  or  snow  water. 
My  experience  is  that  it  does  not,  and 
that  many  of  the  respiratory  affections 
seen  in  children  in  the  winter  are  the 
result  of  undue  exposure  in  the  snow. 

Young  children  should  sleep  in  rooms 
with  the  windows  well  open.  There  is, 
of  course,  no  danger  in  the  night  air.  In 
fact,  the  night  air  is  usually  purer  than 
the  day  air,  because  there  is  less  dust  in 
it.  The  bed  should  be  so  placed,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  not  in  a  direct  draft 
between  two  windows.  There  are  very 
few  nights  in  this  climate  in  which  it  is 
not  perfectly  safe  for  a  child  to  sleep  in  a 
room  with  the  windows  wide  open. 
Under  such  circumstances,  however,  the 
child  must  wear  warm  clothes  and  be 
warmly  covered.    It  may  need  a  night- 

44 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

cap  and  is  almost  certain  to  need  stock- 
ings. If  it  throws  out  its  hands,  it 
should  wear  mittens. 

Naps.  A  child  should  have  a  nap  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  until  the  nap  has  to  be 
given  up  because  of  attendance  at 
school.  Many  children  will  not  sleep, 
even  if  put  to  bed,  after  they  are  three 
or  four  years  old.  They  should,  never- 
theless, be  undressed  and  put  to  bed  in  a 
darkened  room,  whether  they  sleep  or 
not.  Mothers  often  say  that  their  chil- 
dren will  not  stay  in  bed  when  they  are 
put  there.  They  will  stay  in  bed,  how- 
ever, if  they  do  not  dare  to  get  up.  If 
they  are  punished  severely  if  they  get 
out  of  bed,  they  will  stay  there.  The 
benefit  which  they  derive  from  the  rest 
is  well  worth  the  effort  necessary  to 
make  them  stay  in  bed,  even  if  they  do 
not  sleep. 

Bedtime.  Every  child,  until  it  is  at  least 
six  years  old,  should  be  in  bed  by  six 

45 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

o'clock.  The  mothers  are,  as  a  rule, 
glad  to  see  them  there.  The  only  objec- 
tion comes  from  the  fathers  who,  coming 
home  late,  wish  to  have  an  opportunity 
to  play  with  their  children  and  to  enjoy 
them.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  father 
has  to  be  deprived  of  this  pleasure.  If  he 
has  the  proper  regard  for  the  welfare  of 
his  child,  he  should,  however,  be  willing 
to  sacrifice  his  own  pleasure  for  the  good 
of  his  child. 

EDUCATION 

School.  It  is  an  unfortunate  fact,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  health,  that  it  is 
necessary  for  a  child  to  go  to  school.  He 
would  be  better  physically  if  he  could 
grow  up  like  a  young  animal.  He  must, 
however,  get  an  education  and  be  pre- 
pared for  the  business  of  life.  Educa- 
tion has  become  so  complicated  in  recent 
years  that  it  is  important  for  a  child  to 
get  started  on  it  as  early  as  possible. 
Children  have  to  begin  school  earlier, 

46 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

therefore,  than  is  advisable  from  the 
point  of  view  of  their  physical  welfare. 
A  vast  amount  of  time  is,  however, 
wasted  during  the  first  years  of  school, 
chiefly  as  the  result  of  incompetent 
teachers.  The  best  teachers  should  be 
assigned  to  the  young  children  who  have 
to  be  taught  and  made  to  learn,  and,  if 
it  is  necessary  to  have  poor  teachers, 
they  should  be  assigned  to  the  colleges 
where  the  students  themselves  are  old 
enough  to  want  to  learn  without  being 
forced.  If  the  teachers  in  the  early 
grades  were  better,  the  hours  could  be 
shortened  and  the  children  would  not  be 
deprived,  therefore,  of  their  natural 
rights,  pure  air  and  time  for  play.  A 
part  of  the  evils  of  school  life  can  be 
avoided,  however,  by  having  open-air 
schools  or,  at  least,  by  having  the  win- 
dows of  the  schoolrooms  removed  or 
wide  open.  An  abundance  of  out-of- 
door  air  is  even  more  important  for 
young  children  than  for  the  older  ones. 

47 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

Stories.  Many  people  make  a  mistake 
by  telling  children  stories  which  are  far 
beyond  their  mental  capacity.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  their  concepts  are 
very  simple,  and  that  Mother  Goose 
stories  are  more  suitable  for  them  than 
"Ivanhoe"  and  "Robinson  Crusoe."  It 
seems  hardly  possible  that  such  stories 
could  be  read  to  young  children,  but  the 
chief  cause  of  ill  health  and  debility  in 
one  of  my  patients  of  four  years  was 
apparently  the  overstrain  consequent 
on  trying  to  understand  these  stories. 
It  is  very  important,  also,  not  to  read  or 
tell  stories  to  children  which  are  likely 
to  frighten  them.  It  is  difficult  for  an 
adult  to  appreciate  how  much  a  young 
child  may  be  terrified  by  a  story,  which 
to  an  adult  seems  ridiculous,  or  how  they 
will  misunderstand  something  which  to 
an  adult  is  very  plain.  It  is  hard  to 
imagine  stories  more  likely  to  disturb 
and  worry  a  nervous  child  than  "  Little 
Red  Riding  Hood  "  and  Heinrich  Hoff- 

48 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

man's  "  Slovenly  Peter,"  upon  which 
many  of  us  were  brought  up. 

Religion.  All  children,  when  they  are  a 
few  years  old,  begin  to  ask  questions 
about  religious  matters.  These  ques- 
tions are  extremely  difficult  to  answer. 
They  must,  however,  be  answered  in 
some  way.  It  is  wrong  to  turn  the  chil- 
dren off  or  to  refuse  to  answer  them. 
They  must  be  answered,  however,  as 
briefly  as  possible  and  in  as  simple  a  way 
as  possible.  In  any  event,  whatever 
answer  is  given  must  be  true.  The  child 
must  not  be  deceived  in  relation  to  mat- 
ters of  religion  any  more  than  in  relation 
to  other  matters. 

Obedience.  Every  child  must  be  taught 
to  obey.  They  must,  moreover,  be 
taught  to  obey  instantly  and  without 
question.    Like  the  Noble  Six  Hundred, 

'*  Theirs  not  to  make  reply. 
Theirs  not  to  reason  why." 

49 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

Many  a  child  has  died  as  the  result  of 
not  having  been  taught  to  obey.  Many 
children  have  been  killed  by  accident 
who  would  not  have  been  killed  if  they 
had  been  taught  to  obey  a  command 
instantly.  Many  other  children  have 
died  as  the  result  of  disease,  because 
they  had  not  been  taught  to  obey.  Such 
children  resist  treatment  and  refuse 
food,  and  die  as  the  result.  Many  a 
death  certificate  which  has  been  signed 
with  the  name  of  some  disease  should 
have  been  signed  "  improper  training  by 
the  parents." 

An  adult  should  never  ask  a  child  to  do 
anything  unless  he  means  that  the  child 
shall  do  it.  If  a  command  is  given,  it 
must  be  obeyed.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
adult  must  be  very  careful  not  to  give 
any  useless  or  senseless  commands. 
Above  all  things,  an  adult  should  never 
threaten  to  punish  a  child  for  doing,  or 
not  doing,  a  certain  thing  without  inflict- 
ing the  punishment  if  the  command  is 

50 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

disobeyed.  A  child  never  has  any  re- 
spect for  an  adult  who  lies  to  it.  More- 
over, it  never  knows  whether  a  given 
command  is  to  be  obeyed  or  not.  It  is 
seldom  necessary  to  inflict  corporal 
punishment.  Every  child,  however, 
needs  it  at  times.  There  is  nothing 
which  is  so  effectual  or  which  takes  its 
place.  It  should  be  avoided,  if  possible, 
but  when  it  becomes  necessary,  the 
punishment  should  be  so  thorough  that 
the  child  will  not  forget  it  for  a  long 
time.  The  child  that  is  whipped  best 
needs  whipping  least. 

A  child  should  never  be  bribed  to  do 
anything  which  it  is  right  for  it  to  do. 
He  ought  to  do  it  simply  because  he  is 
told  to  do  it.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
child  should  never  be  asked  to  do  any- 
thing which  he  ought  not  to  do.  A  bribe 
is,  therefore,  never  necessary. 

Parents  and  others  dealing  with  chil- 
dren should  be  very  careful  to  avoid  fric- 
tion.     A    tactful,    considerate    person 

51 


HARVARD  HEALTH  TALKS 

rarely  gives  any  commands  or,  if  he 
does,  gives  them  in  such  a  way  that 
friction  does  not  result.  If  friction  does 
result,  and  the  child  refuses  to  obey 
a  command,  the  child  must  be  made  to 
mind.  When  friction  arises,  the  situa- 
tion must  be  met  and  the  adult  must 
win.  If  the  adult  loses,  it  is  harder  for 
him  to  win  the  next  time.  If  the  child 
never  wins,  he  never  expects  to  win.  He 
finally  never  thinks  of  disobeying  an 
order. 

A  child  should  never  be  deceived.  An 
adult  should  never  lie  to  a  child.  A 
child  never  forgets  that  an  adult  has 
lied  to  him.  It  never  forgives  a  lie,  and 
never  respects  the  person  who  told  it. 
Children  that  are  not  lied  to  do  not  lie 
themselves.  Children  that  are  lied  to 
cannot  be  expected  to  tell  the  truth. 

A  child  should  never  be  threatened 
with  the  doctor.  A  child  should  never  be 
told  when  he  is  doing  wrong  that  the 
doctor  will  come  and  take  him  away  in 

52 


CARE  OF  CHILDREN 

his  bag.  He  should  never  be  told  that 
if  he  is  not  good  the  doctor  will  come 
and  give  him  some  bad  medicine.  He 
should,  on  the  contrary,  be  taught  to 
regard  the  doctor  as  his  best  friend,  — 
as  he  really  is. 


53 


PRINTED  AT 

THE  HABVAKD   UNIVEKSITT   PBE88 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  U.S.A. 


DATE  DUE 

i^iidsL  -, 

va   i^''-^ 

y.'i 

h      -        •           ..; 

*'•-■ 

V 

Printed 
n  USA 

